Michael Love stories, Page 25
Australian team soaks up baseball, American culture while in town for Freeport International
Kye Hodges loves baseball and loves to be on the field with his teammates. It’s that simple formula that has the 15-year-old Central Coast, Australia, resident — nicknamed Big Sexy by his hometown friends — excited to be in Freeport this week with a group of baseball players from Down...
2024 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: West Mifflin’s Armand Hill
West Mifflin senior Delron White was having a strong first part of the 2023 season as he carried the rushing load for the Titans. But when he went down with a leg injury in the second half of a 38-14 loss to conference rival Avonworth in Week 5, West Mifflin...
Dre Corbin jumps quickly into boys basketball coaching role at Riverview
When Dre Corbin came on board in early May as the as the Riverview boys basketball coach, he saw an enthusiastic athletic environment in which to offer his coaching abilities and put forth his goals to raise the program to a level of success. “This job called to me for...
Andre Carter steps into new role as Riverview athletic director
Andre Carter knows a lot about the athletes at Riverview. As athletic director and girls basketball coach at Leechburg, he witnessed numerous matchups between the Alle-Kiski Valley rivals. Carter’s mission now is to give the Raiders athletes the best advantage to succeed, both as individuals and in team competition. He...
30th Freeport International Baseball Invitational kicks off
Last year, the Backyard Bucs youth travel team helped usher in the week of games at the Freeport International Baseball Invitational at James E. Swartz Memorial Field in Freeport Borough with a Monday evening game against the France Hawks. The Bucs, a 12U squad with players from Oakmont, Lower Burrell,...
Gateway Heights takes trophy, hundreds of swimmers compete in Monroeville Invitational
The second Saturday in July usually brings hot weather for any outside activity. That was the case July 13 as the sun and heat baked Garden City Pool, the site of an annual youth swimming tradition. Despite the warm temperatures, more than 200 competitors from five area swim clubs gathered...
Plum using summer basketball to build foundation
The Plum boys basketball team had five or six open-gym workouts in May with new coach Dave Pucka before jumping right into the Pittsburgh Basketball Club summer league at Central Catholic and Gateway high schools. “We only had one offensive set in and, I think, two out-of-bounds plays. That was...
It’s a g’day for baseball as FIBI celebrates 30th anniversary with team from Australia
At this time of the year, Chuck Sarver is full of anxious anticipation and optimism. The president of the Freeport International Baseball Invitational, which begins Monday evening at James E. Swartz Sr. Memorial Field in Freeport Borough, is ready to greet more than two dozen youth baseball teams to the...
New Kensington’s Kings & Queens of the Court gathers healthy number of young players at outdoor hoops
Last summer, Ian Benson marveled as he looked out on the then-brand new outdoor basketball courts along Barnes Street in New Kensington. It was the first time in the five years of the Kings & Queens of the Court summer youth basketball program that it was held there as more...
Captain Albano headlines eliminations for Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids
A total of 15 contenders, including Captain Albano, the Dan Patch Award Winner for 2-year-old male pacers as well as Pennsylvania’s champion, will enter Saturday’s pair of eliminations for the Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. The elimination heats, both of which will...
Apollo-Ridge girls basketball making strides as it transitions to new coach Raevaan Mottley
Even before Raevaan Mottley arrived at Apollo-Ridge as the new varsity girls basketball head coach in late May, his players were taking part in open gyms. A pair of games in the St. Joseph spring/summer league also were scheduled. “Apollo-Ridge, they were doing things right,” said Mottley, a Greensburg Salem...
Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Thomas Jefferson’s Shep Turk
The start of high school football practices throughout the state begin in less than a month, and Thomas Jefferson two-way lineman Shep Turk has a singular focus when it comes to being ready to start his senior season. Conditioning and agility training, weight room work, and play study are what...
Gateway youth track and field athletes heading to AAU Junior Olympic Nationals
Last year in its inaugural season, the Gateway Gators Youth Track and Field club began with 60 athletes ages 7 to 18 before that number tailed off somewhat as the season progressed. But both the coaches and athletes were able to draw a lot of positives from that first season,...
Runners from 30 states compete in America’s Mile on Pittsburgh’s North Shore
The America’s Mile on Friday evening on the North Shore was a new take on an annual summer running tradition. But while the name changed — it formerly was the Fleet Feet Liberty Mile — and the location moved from the Cultural District Downtown to a finish line in the...
Alle-Kiski Valley sends crew to national 16U wrestling tourney
Garett Huff is no stranger to high-level wrestling competition. The rising sophomore from Plum hopes to make his mark with a new venture next weekend, one that is steeped in tradition for the quality matches it produces every summer. USA Wrestling’s U.S. Marine Corps Junior and 16U Nationals in Fargo,...
A household name in local bowling, Rich Nesbit passes baton after 47-year career at lanes
Rich Nesbit had a routine he followed thousands of times. As the owner of his family’s namesake Nesbit’s Lanes in Plum, he would arrive at the facility, make sure all the machines were on, get the snack bar started, check to see if all the bathrooms were clean and do...
Lower Burrell Legion team makes most of busy schedule
From June 5 to July 3, the Lower Burrell American Legion baseball team played 18 District 31 league games. It was a four-week sprint to the finish, and while the Post 868 Bulldogs, one of the younger teams in the 14-team league, didn’t finish with the record it had hoped,...
Kiski Area Sports Hall of Fame set to induct Class of 2024
Shane Kuhn left it all out on the field and on the mat for the Kiski Area football and wrestling teams. The 2014 graduate earned eight varsity letters across both sports while garnering numerous accolades for his performances. Kuhn was a two-time all-conference tight end and was all-state as a...
Valley turns to prominent basketball alumni to help restore luster to boys, girls programs
Brice Flenory and Tonya (Pryor) Norman wowed fans of the Valley basketball teams during their time on the high school hardcourt. Norman graduated from Valley in 1989 and went on to a collegiate hoops career at Duquesne. Flenory graduated in 1998 after a playing career that included back-to-back Valley News...
After 35 years, coach Joe Hohman continues to make an impact at Divine Mercy Academy
Joe Hohman may not be the biggest name in area basketball coaching circles, but the long-tenured varsity boys coach at St. Bernadette’s school in Monroeville, now Divine Mercy Academy, has built a successful winning resume for 35 years while also serving as a trusted mentor to hundreds of players who...
Freeport’s Sydney Selker selected Valley News Dispatch Softball Player of Year
Player of the Year Sydney Selker Freeport, Senior, Pitcher When Sydney Selker was forced to miss the last half of her junior softball season because of injury, thoughts turned forward to this past spring and how she would rebound and be a driving force in getting Freeport back to the...
Riverview’s Lola Abraham selected Gatorade Pennsylvania Girls Soccer Player of the Year
Lola Abraham enjoyed one of the most prolific high school careers in WPIAL girls soccer history, and that included a 2023 senior season when she scored 77 goals and added 20 assists to help lead the Riverview girls soccer team to the WPIAL and PIAA title games. A bevy of...
Josh Shields hopes to stay close to Burrell wrestling program despite departure as coach
When Josh Shields stepped down as Burrell head wrestling coach a couple of weeks ago, he wanted to convey to the returning underclassmen that while he won’t have the same title, he wants to be present to help them reach their goals. “Hopefully, I will be able to volunteer at...
Senior softball players enjoy relaxed atmosphere of inaugural all-star game
Temperatures hovered in the mid 80s under a setting sun as Team Gold and Team Black gathered Tuesday evening for a celebration of the 2024 WPIAL softball season. Many of the region’s best senior players tested their skill in the inaugural Western PA Softball All-Star Game, a relaxed and fun...
Freeport grad Jarrett Heilman, Plum grad Evan Azzara find new homes via transfer portal
Last month, Jarrett Heilman entered the transfer portal after three successful seasons with the Mercyhurst baseball team and a fourth that never materialized because of an elbow injury and subsequent surgery. The Freeport graduate, the 2023 PSAC West Pitcher of the Year, now has a new home for his final...

